About 60 percent of the human body and 70 percent of the Earth’s surface contains water. Life without water is impossible. It plays a pivotal role in the body. For example:
Regulation of body temperature is not possible without water, sweating and water evaporation decrease body temperature from the skin surface. If your body loses its ability to control the temperature, heat exhaustion and stroke may lead to death.
The main element of plasma (the liquid part of the blood) is water. Carrying nutrients and oxygens to cells is a crucial function of blood. Conversely, the transportation of carbon dioxide and waste materials is another responsibility of the circulation system. Both of them are not done without H2O. One symptom of dehydration is decreasing blood pressure which means a disturbance in the circulatory system.
Some parts of waste materials in the body keep away through urination. The kidneys are responsible for disposing of them with water. They work to keep the water balance in the body. Dark urine is one manifestation of low body water.
Water plays a role from the first to the last part of the digestive system. About 99 percent of Saliva is water. Having a dry mouth is a symptom of dehydration. The digestive system needs water to absorb foods. Vitamin C and Vitamin B complexes are water-soluble. Hence, drinking enough water is vital to their absorption. It also helps the food in the gut to move smoothly and have better defecation. Constipation sometimes ensues from dehydration.
Dehydration has a lot of manifestations and harmful effects on our health. An investigation about headaches indicates drinking more water in a day decreases the frequency and intensity of pain in the patients suffering from migraine.
According to the research between 2009-2012 in the USA, men and women over 60 years old drink less water than their daily needs compared to the other age groups. Having less sense of thirst in older people is a reason. It is essential to pay more attention to drinking enough water in all age groups, especially older people.
How much water should we drink in a day?
It is too hard to define a specific amount of water to drink daily. Body water loss is affected by different factors, and it determines how much water we should drink. It depends on daily activity, the climate’s temperature, age, sex, food intake, and health condition. It also has a range, not a definite number, because kidneys can regulate total body concentration by changing urine volume.
Some researchers state that 3.7 L for adult men and 2.7 L for adult women can be considered enough daily water intake. When we speak about daily water intake, all water in food or beverages besides pure water intake. If you want to calculate how much plain water you should drink, it is better to use a hydration calculator which considers different factors
One of the best indicators of hydration status is urine color as some scientists pointed out. The more you are dehydrated, the color of your urine will be more yellow. It is crucial to evaluate your hydration quality every day and drink enough water.